You are here

<i>Nothofagus</i>

The post-glacial pollen sequence for inland regions of the eastern South Island is from grass and Coprosma _ Dacrydium (probably D. bidwillii) _ Phyllocladus (probably P. alpinus) _ Podocarpus and Dacrycarpus _ Nothofagus (solandri and/or fusca). If this is interpreted simply as a response to climatic warming, the position of Dacrydium is anomalous, as at present it does not often reach altitudes as high as Phyllocladus and Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides.

The relationship between soil pattern and forest cover in the Inangahua Depression, West Coast, is examined and discussed. The relative effects of five soil forming factors, topography, parent material, climate, time and organisms are considered. The first four factors may be placed in a sequence of decreasing importance from climate through time and topography to parent material.

The main purpose of biological reserves in the northern West Coast and western Southland beech forest management regions and some factors affecting their selection are described. Their total area is about 30,000 ha in the West Coast region and about 5,000 ha in western Southland (excluding Waitutu State Forest).

The Forest Service proposals for fuller use of some South Island beech forests have focussed unparalleled attention on the management of indigenous forests; and the fact that the New Zealand Ecological Society has conducted a symposium on the ecology of beech forests is a manifestation of this widespread interest. This paper is an attempt to place the proposals directly before ecologists so that final evaluation can follow a reasonably complete understanding.

Plotless methods were used to sample four forest stands situated at different altitudes on Mount Colenso, Ruahine mountain range, North Island, New Zealand. The altitudinal distributions of the main woody species are described graphically. All species have overlapping altitudinal ranges, so that no clear altitudinal 'belts' can be distinguished. The forest composition is regarded as a continuum showing gradual variation from diverse mixed (podocarp-beach) forest on the terraces of the Kawhatau river (c. 2000 ft.

The literature on wind damage in New Zealand forests is reviewed to investigate how abiotic and biotic factors influence damage severity, damage type, and forest recovery. Winds that damage forests tend to result from extra-tropical depressions or from topographically enhanced westerly air flows. Severe wind damage can occur when wind speeds exceed c. 0 km/hr, although investigating the relationship between damage and wind speeds is difficult, as gusts, for which speed is usually unrecorded, are important.